Ishida the Man of Steel at Japan Nationals 2011

Monday, July 18, 2011

What a game, what a match, and what a weekend. Ryuuichirou Ishida claimed the title after a pulsating final against Tomoya Fujimoto that went the full five games and featured great Magic and great emotion.

Joining them on the National team is former World Champion Makihito Mihara, with Yoshihiko Ikawa also making the trip to Worlds in San Francisco as the alternate team member.

Fourteen rounds across two formats brought us to this final day. There was variety all over the Standard environment. The top 8 alone saw five different archetypes, with Valakut, Tempered Steel, Blue-Black Control, Tezzeret, and Green-White all reaching the elimination rounds. The Green-White deck of Fujimoto is well worth an outing at your next Friday Night Magic, as it's a ton of fun to play, and has plenty of options. It very, very nearly took Fujimoto the distance, but it was Ishida who was the man of steel - Tempered Steel.

This was the largest Nationals event held anywhere in the world, with three hundred and fifty eight competitors taking part. There was plenty to do apart from the main event, including the inaugural Battle of Champions, won by Masaya Kitayama, who bested Katsuhiro Mori in their Super Sealed final earlier in the day.

One of the leading stories was the success of Shouta Yasooka, taking his shot at Nationals Pro Points ahead of his main Player of the Year rivals in other countries. Messrs Juza, Turtenwald, Stark, and others must have been mighty relieved when Yasooka set the bar at 'only'

making the top 8. That quarterfinal defeat may yet play a huge part in the destination of the Player of the Year title. Perhaps U.S.

Nationals at Gen Con in a couple of weeks will give us more insight into that particular race.

Now, though, it's time to reflect on a fantastic weekend in one of the great Magic nations. Only one of the three team members is a global name on the Magic scene, but everyone begins with their first Pro Tour, and both finalists have the right stuff to succeed when Worlds comes around in November. Congratulations to Yoshihiko Ikawa, Makihito Mihara, Tomoya Fujimoto, and most of all to Ryuuichirou Ishida, Japan National Champion 2011!

...and but in particular to Ryuuichirou Ishida, Japan National Champion 2011!

Top 8 – Player Profiles

by Rich Hagon

Name: Ryouichi Tamada From: Osaka Age: 26 Profession: System engineer Standard Record: 7-1 Standard Deck: Valakut Why did you choose this deck? I've been using it since M11 came out. Draft Record: 5-1, using UG with a splash for Fireball for the first draft, WU for the second draft Which match stands out the most for you this weekend? The 12th round when I knew I would be in the Top 8. Where do you usually play Magic? At Tournament Center Maho or Niji-iro Kujira.

Name: Makihito Mihara From: Chiba Age: 29 Profession: Company employee Standard Record: 7-1 Standard Deck: Valakut Why did you choose this deck? I've been playing it for a long time, and it has a good winning percentage. Draft Record: 2-1 with a UW mill deck in the first draft, 3-0 with a UR tempo deck in the second draft. Which match stands out the most for you this weekend? In the 11th round, I was playing a Valakut mirror match. On the turn after my opponent had stripped all the Titans out of my deck with Memoricide, I ripped 3 Valakuts off the top with my Oracles and came back to win. Where do you usually play Magic? LMC

Name: Shouta Takao From: Nagasaki Age: 22 Profession: Student Standard Record: 6-1-1 Standard Deck: UB control Why did you choose this deck? It's very reliable, especially in the "New" Standard without Stoneforge Mystic. Draft Record: 5-1, with a WR deck for the first draft where I usually won by Flinging a Colossus at my opponent, and UB in the second draft. Which match stands out the most for you this weekend? When I did 21 points of damage by playing the Crumbling Colossus with Warstorm Surge out, swung with it, then threw it at my opponent with Fling. Where do you usually play Magic? Card One in Nagasaki, Card Kingdom, and premier events in Fukuoka.

Name: Shouta Yasooka From: Japan Age: 26 Profession: Professional Magic player Standard Record: 7-0-1 Standard Deck: Tezzeret Why did you choose this deck? I love Tezzeret. Draft Record: 3-0 with a GW spider deck, and 1-2 with a not-so-good GB deck Which match stands out the most for you this weekend? My 4th round game against Arita which I thought I was going to lose but ended up winning. Where do you usually play Magic? Grand Prixes and Pro Tours

Name: Tomoya Fujimoto From: Osaka Age: 25 Profession: Freelancer Standard Record: 7-1 Standard Deck: Green-White Why did you choose this deck? Tsuyoshi Fujita recommended it to me. He called it the "Super Weak Special Deck". Draft Record: 2-1 with UW in both drafts Which match stands out the most for you this weekend? The last round, when Tamada and I drew into the Top 8. Where do you usually play Magic? Amenity Dream Nihonbashi and Rimi-ken

Name: Ryuuichirou Ishida From: Aichi Age: 22 Profession: Student Standard Record: 8-0 Standard Deck: Tempered SteelWhy did you choose this deck? This deck is very strong. It can beat most decks through sheer brute force. Draft Record: 3-0 with a UB deck in the first draft, and 0-3 with a UG deck that I drafted very poorly. Which match stands out the most for you this weekend? Either the last round of draft when I ran into Mihara's mill deck, or the Standard match where I pulled off a comeback win against Hirayama with an awesome topdeck. Where do you usually play Magic? Chiekeda-tei

Name: Kouei Itou From: Saitama Age: 21 Profession: Student Standard Record: 7-1 Standard Deck: Valakut Why did you choose this deck? All the decks I was building were losing to Valakut, so I decided to play it the day before Nationals began. Draft Record: 2-1 with a WR deck, and 2-1 with a RU deck in the second draft. Which match stands out the most for you this weekend? The last round where I could have won with Nature's Claim, but I didn't, and ended up winning in spite of all my Valakut abilities getting sucked up by Spellskite. Where do you usually play Magic? Hareru-ya

Name: Yoshihiko Ikawa From: Tokyo Age: 25 Profession: Professional Magic player Standard Record: 6-2 Standard Deck: WU Tempered SteelWhy did you choose this deck? Both Atsushi Itou and Jun'ya Takahashi told me this was the No. 1 deck. Draft Record: 3-0 with a RG deck in the first draft, and 2-1 with a UG deck in the second. Which match stands out the most for you this weekend? In the 10th round when I lost to Lava Axe and Goblin Grenade. Where do you usually play Magic? Hareru-ya and tournaments in the Kanto area.

We're going to keep an eye on all the quarterfinal action as it happens, but we begin with Shouta Yasooka's quest for Player of the Year, a title he last won in 2006. He brings his Tezzeret deck into action against Tomoya Fujimoto, who is really living the dream this weekend, since he won the Last Chance Qualifier on Friday. He brings an interesting green-white deck, but it may not be seen to best advantage here against the might of Yasooka.

Tezzeret fell to dead, as did the Hero of Bladehold, and Yasooka fell to thirteen. He laid a second Tectonic Edge, taking him to five mana, and passed the turn with his 5/5 Torpor Orb his only board presence.

In the Valakut mirror match, it looked as if Makihito Mihara was taking control of game one. He had Avenger of Zendikar on the battlefield with seven plants for support, together with Oracle of Mul Daya, which may be quite good together...On the other side of the table Kouei Itou had just a pair of Solemn Simulacrum.

Kouei Itou vs. Makihito Mihara

Meanwhile, Yoshihiko Ikawa led Ryoichi Tamada by a lightning-fast 2-0, his Tempered Steel deck piling past the Valakut player, despite an eleven card sideboard package to swing the matchup back towards Tamada. In game three, however, Ikawa mulliganed to five, which was hardly promising.

Ikawa attacked for two, with Tamada down to eleven. Pyroclasm cleared the board, and Tamada felt confident enough to activate his Raging Ravine and pile in. That was the cue for Ikawa to sweep up his permanents, completing a comprehensive misfire that made the score..

Tamada 1 - 2 Ikawa

Score updates from the other quarterfinals

Fujimoto had managed to equalize againt Yasooka, making them now a best two out of three. Ryuuichirou Ishida had taken his Tempered Steel deck to a 2-0 lead over the Blue-Black Control of Shouta Takao, while Makihito Mihara had indeed taken the opening game of the Valakut mirror, and led 1-0.

Still, Tamada was down to seven, and needed something more heavy-duty than Nature's Claim. Something like Creeping Corrosion, for example, which he promptly cast. Ikawa attempted to reload with two Signal Pests, but the sideboard of Tamada arrived again when he cast Pyroclasm to wipe the board again. When Tamada tapped six mana for Primeval Titan, Ikawa conceded, and we were heading for a very brisk game five shootout.

Ikawa 2 - 2 Tamada

Fujimoto now led Shouta Yasooka by 2-1, and was looking to cause an upset. It looked as if the Tempered Steel deck of Ryuuichirou Ishida was going to sweep the blue-black Control of Shouta Takao, while the Valakut mirror was still in the early stages of game two, so there's a good chance you'll be reading about that one in about three paragraphs from now....

Ikawa kept his opening seven, and so did Tamada, a bad sign for Ikawa, who opened with Vault Skirge. Preordain on turn two saw Memnite and Signal Pest on top, which Ikawa sent away, getting a land instead.

Tamada used his three mana to Cultivate, adding a Mountain to the board, and a Forest to hand, which he cast as his land for the turn, leaving Nature's Claim mana open. The Vault Skirge attacked for another three, and Ikawa dropped Hero of Bladehold, apparently for the first time in the whole match, since Tamada wanted to check what the card did, Ikawa playing with an English version of the card...

Tamada reached six mana, and then moments later eight, which meant Primeval Titan. That had been the cue for the concession in game four, but not this time. Tamada was at thirteen and Ikawa had a possibly awesome turn coming. He opened with Preordain, seeing Memnite and Glint Hawk Idol, leaving them on top, and drawing the Memnite. He cast it, and used Dispatch to kill the Primeval Titan, now that he had Metalcraft. In came the Vault Skirge, the Hero of Bladehold, and two Soldiers, and now Tamada was at just two life.

The Valakut player untapped with eight mana, but basically needed Creeping Corrosion AND Pyroclasm on this one turn if he was going to survive. Or, a LOT of red-hot Valakut action.Ikawa sat motionless as he waited to discover his fate. Tamada cast Khalni Heart Expedition.

During the final game here, two of the other quarterfinals reached their conclusion. As expected, Ishida took the third game and the sweep over blue-black, while Tomoya Fujimoto completed an excellent victory over Shouta Yasooka.

Ikawa 3 - 2 Tamada

Ishida 3 - 0 Takao

And you know what? That Valakut mirror was done too, and that could mean only one thing - a clean sweep for Makihito Mihara!

So, in a little less than an hour all four quarterfinals were done.

Ikawa had managed to squeeze past Tamada in a really tight five game set. He would now take his Tempered Steel deck into action against the green-white deck of Tomoya Fujimoto, who had taken out Shouta Yasooka by 3-1. In the bottom bracket, Ryuuichirou Ishida, on the back of his 3-0 quarterfinal win over Shouta Takao, would face the Valakut deck of Makihito Mihara, himself a 3-0 quarterfinal winner.

Steel against green-white.

Steel against Valakut.

Who would prove their metal mettle in the semifinals?

Semifinals – Semifinal Round-Up

Both players arrive here in the semifinals knowing that they will both be on the plane for Worlds in San Francisco. The winner here advances to the title match, while the loser faces the toughest match of the Magic year, coming off a loss before facing the 3rd/4th playoff which will determine the final member of the National team for Worlds.

Neither player dropped a game in the opening elimination round, so come here ready to battle with confidence.

Ishida began with a double mulligan, so his chance for an explosive start was small, especially as he was on the draw. Evolving Wilds began the match, before Ishida had Memnite into Glint Hawk into Memnite. Oh, ok then, explosive start after all. Mihara cast Rampant Growth on turn two, his own version of the explosive start, and we were under way.

Yoshihiko Ikawa

Ishida attacked for three, cast Vault Skirge, but couldn't improve his position further, having no second land. That wasn't a problem for Mihara, who cast Cultivate to take him to five mana on turn three, one of which was Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle. He was already up to three Mountains. No second land was waiting for Ishida who attacked for four, before seeing Mihara land Primeval Titan, fetching a second Valakut and a fourth Mountain. Best guess? 1-0 to Mihara...

Ishida took one more look for a second land, didn't find it, but continued to push in, dropping Mihara to ten. He cast Glint Hawk, returned his Memnite, and recast it. Primeval Titan attacked, Mihara found two Mountains, and best guess became fact moments later.

Mihara 1 - 0 Ishida

On the second table things were going rather better for the Tempered Steel player, with Yoshihiko Ikawa up a game over his green-white opponent Tomoya Fujimoto.

Ikawa 1 - 0 Fujimoto

Ryuuichirou Ishida

Ishida was happy to keep his opening seven, beginning with Vault Skirge and Memnite on turn one. Turn two saw him attack for two, cast Glint Hawk Idol, and pass, leaving Mihara to fetch a Forest from his opening Evolving Wilds. Rampant Growth was all he could expect from turn two, but that opened the way for plenty of beats on turn three.

If you thought it was blistering here, you should have seen the other table! TWO games had been completed while these two were 'slogging' their way through game two, meaning it was time to check in on the other semifinal before it was done!

For six mana Fujimoto cast Wurmcoil Engine, and we had reached the pivotal moment. If Ikawa could deal with it, he still had the chance to force Fujimoto to block unprofitably. If the Wurmcoil got to attack, Fujimoto would be heading out of sight. Revoke Existence from Ikawa answered that question, and he attacked once more. Nest Invader and Lotus Cobra blocked the Memnite, trading two-for-one, and Fujimoto was down to just two life. Down came Vault Skirge for Ikawa.

Across the hall, Tempered Steel now led the match 2-1, Ishida having come from behind to lead Mihara's Valakut deck.

Now we got ready for game five, still only half an hour into these semifinals! Fujimoto kept his opening seven, while Ikawa thought for a moment before setting the game in motion. Stirring Wildwood for Fujimoto met Vault Skirge from Ikawa. Fujimoto had Lotus Cobra on turn two, sending Ikawa deep into thought. For the second match running he was in an intricate game five.

In came the Vault Skirge. Glint Hawk Idol was Ikawa's play. Fujimoto's play was more exciting, using Lotus Cobra to help cast Hero of Bladehold, and then attacking with the Cobra, dropping Ikawa to seventeen. It looked as if Fujimoto was winning this particular episode of 'Who's the Beatdown?'

Spellskite from Ikawa triggered the Glint Hawk Idol, before he spilled Memnite and Signal Pest onto the table. Fujimoto had the perfect answer in Creeping Corrosion! It wasn't just the perfect answer for the turn, it was the perfect answer for the match, as Ikawa was quick to extend the hand in congratulation.

Ishida added a third counter to his Shrine, and Mihara elected not to block when Ishida sent in the team. Knowing that Mihara had to deal with what was on board, Ishida kept his three cards in hand back for a potential second wave - or third, given that the legions were on the way. Mihara, though, had kept his Overgrown Battlement safe for a reason. He cast a second Overgrown Battlement, tapped the first for two mana, taking him to five and casting Green Sun's Zenith for Oracle of Mul Daya. The top card of his deck was Cultivate, but Mihara had a Terramorphic Expanse ready to spin the wheel on the top of his deck.

Now the top was revealed as a Primeval Titan, causing a sharp intake of breath from the large crowd.

Ishida started doing the math, and made three tokens with his Shrine at end of turn. He untapped with a mighty army ready to rumble, and sent them in, activating the Contested War Zone. Mihara fell to just one life. He drew, but had no answer, and an ecstatic Ryuuichirou Ishida raised his hands aloft in triumph. He was through to a championship matchup against Tomoya Fujimoto, while Mihara would take on Yoshihiko Ikawa for the final slot on the National team.

Makihito Mihara 2 - 3 Ryuuichirou Ishida

Battle of Champions – Masaya Kitayama vs. Katsuhiro Mori

by Rich Hagon

After four rounds of Super Sealed action, eleven former champions have been whittled down to two. First, the 2007 Champion Masaya Kitayama. Twice a finalist at Grand Prix, and with four Pro Tour top 32s to his name, he is clearly no slouch. Nonetheless, he comes into the final here as the underdog, since he faces Katsuhiro Mori.

Mori has multiple Grand Prix titles, a World Champion trophy from 2005, and three successive Worlds top 8 performances. He's also - for another couple of hours - the reigning National Champion.

Both players were given a fresh set of twelve M12 boosters to build new Super Sealed pools, so neither had any idea what would be waiting for them across the table. Having seen both players build their decks, it looked as though Mori was going to take a lot of stopping. He had built an aggressive red-black Bloodthirst deck, topping out at Sengir Vampire, Vengeful Pharaoh, and a near-guaranteed win in Sorin's Vengeance. Kitayama had gone white-red, with both Chandra, the Firebrand and Chandra's Phoenix. He also had Sun Titan at the top end of his curve.

Katsuhiro Mori vs. Masaya Kitayama

Kitayama began with a turn two Stormfront Pegasus, which was in play for approximately one second, Shock sending it to the graveyard. He had Chandra's Phoenix on turn three for the first damage of the match.

Mori cast Tormented Soul, another excellent Bloodthirst enabler, and Onyx Mage, but he was on the back foot against the Benalish Veteran and Blood Ogre, both masquerading as Hill Giants. When Mori traded for the Veteran, Kitayama was ready with the massive Sun Titan, getting it straight back. That was enough for Mori, who was happy to prepare for game three.

Kitayama 1 - 1 Mori

Game 3

One of the features of Super Sealed is that it's possible to build multiple good decks, and there becomes an element of Metagame to the matches, as players try to work out which of their decks will match up best against whatever their opponent is running. At one each, it seemed Mori was preparing for a major switch.

First they won their quarterfinals. That guaranteed them a plane ticket to Worlds. Then they won their semifinals. That guaranteed them a place on the National team. Now it's time for the final, and one of these two will be forever-remembered as a National Champion, while one of them, er, won't.

Fujimoto has already used his green-white deck to edge past another Tempered Steel opponent, defeating Yoshihiko Ikawa in the semifinals by 3-2. Ishida meanwhile had to pass Makihito Mihara in the semifinal, taking out the Valakut player in another five game set.

Ishida cast Tempered Steel, and in came the team. Already at fourteen, Fujimoto was in a tight spot. So tight, in fact, that he knew he was stuck. Turn three, good game, 1-0. Wow.

Fujimoto 0 - 1 Ishida

Game 2

Ishida had shown real passion after his victory over Mihara, and it was obvious as he prepared for game two that he was acutely aware of the glittering prize on offer. Signal Pest, Memnite, Memnite, Ornithopter, Ornithopter. Excuse me????? That was turn one from Ishida. Turn two from Fujimoto was Lotus Cobra.

In came many, many men. Fujimoto was at fourteen, with Ishida adding Vault Skirge at the cost of two life. Marsh Flats triggered Lotus Cobra, and then again as Fujimoto went in search of a Plains. That meant five mana on turn three, which he used to cast Acidic Slime, nailing the Signal Pest and making Ishida's board position a lot less scary.

Game 3

Fujimoto had Creeping Corrosion in his opening hand for game three, an utter beating against the all-artifact, all-the-time deck across the table. Creeping Corrosion, however, costs four, and that's a long time to wait on the draw, especially if you know your opponent has a hand sufficient to keep, which Ishida had already done.

Game 4

Offering up a prayer, Ishida looked at his opening seven for game four. Head in hands, he pondered, then elected to mulligan. At least Fujimoto was also starting with six cards. Ishida couldn't keep his next hand either, but Fujimoto was happier, and would start up one card. If Ishida could pull off a similar opening to game two when he dropped almost his entire hand onto the battlefield on turn one, he might be able to find a route to victory on top of his library.

He cast Ornithopter, and sent the Idol into battle. The Contested War Zone made it three damage, and Fujimoto was at seven, facing an opponent with just one card in hand.

The 3/3 Golem attacked, Ishida putting Memnite in the way, keeping his 0/2 Ornithopter back as a flying beater for the following turn.

Fujimoto passed, giving more hope to Ishida, who really wanted to see a Tempered Steel. He saw Ornithopter instead, cast it, and sent his air force into action, pumping them with Contested War Zone. Four more life gone, Fujimoto at just three life.

A familiar sight from a Tempered Steel deck...men turning sideways in the red zone.

Game 5

It had been an excellent final. Both players had contributed, played hard, played courteously, and the games had a good mix of power, intrigue, and excitement. Undoubtedly adding to the drama for the spectators was the heart-on-sleeve emotions of Ishida. While Fujimoto remained stoic throughout, every scrap of intellect, effort, and desire could be seen in Ishida. Now the question was whether he would overcook and destroy himself in the heat of battle, or use that desire to claim the title.

Down came Tempered Steel for Ishida, and another Memnite. Fujimoto was at fifteen, and staring down the barrel, even with his first strike Golem. Ishida had just one card left to play, but it could be the card that claimed a National Championship. Fujimoto held double Garruk Wildspeaker, Birds of Paradise, and two land. He sent in the Golem before casting the planeswalker, dropping him to two loyalty in exchange for a 3/3 Beast.

Back to Ishida, who was so close to the finish line he could almost touch it. He activated his Blinkmoths, and sent everything into the red zone. The Inkmoths aimed directly at Fujimoto, while the rest took out Garruk for the second successive turn. Fujimoto drew for the turn, and extended the hand.

Ishida let out a howl of delight as a huge burst of adrenaline, relief, and ecstasy flooded across his face.